Best Value European City Breaks for Autumn 2018

‘The 10th Annual Post Office City Cost Barometer has been released and it reveals the list of best value European city breaks for Autumn 2018…’

The Rules…

The costs used to determine the value of any a city break is based on typical purchases made by tourists.

Amongst other things, these consist of the average prices for accommodation (2 adults, 2 nights), airport transfers, sightseeing tours and entry to top art galleries and museums.

They also include the all important categories of ‘cups of coffee’ and ‘glasses of wine’ (the latter being my personal barometer for *everywhere* I go…) These are included because they’re the most important purchases you can make on holiday. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise…because they’re wrong.

And the winner is…

Krakow has established itself as 2018’s best value break. The average cost of a break to the Polish city is a rather reasonable £164.80. In comparison to the price of a UK break, the differences are stark.

As an example, a short stay in Edinburgh will set you back almost £291.30. A trip to the English capital will, perhaps unsurprisingly, will cost even more. London will clear your pockets to the tune of around £351.25.

Eastern Europe rules

It will likely come as little surprise to hear that Eastern Europe has filled ALL the top slots on this year’s survey. After Krakow, Vilnius in Lithuania takes second spot, with Latvia’s capital city of Riga finishing third.

Rounding off the top five are Poland’s capital, Warsaw, followed by the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

In comparison to Krakow, the average prices are very similar…

Krakow – £164.80

Vilnius – £165.53

Riga – £172.17

Warsaw – £180.53

Budapest – £183.51

How did Western Europe fare?

Eastern Europe isn’t the only place to fare well on the 2018 City Cost Barometer. The Greek capital, Athens, came top of the pile for Western Europe. The average cost of a break to the historic city comes in at an entirely reasonable £200.45. Lisbon also came in a close second, with the gorgeous Portuguese capital averaging £208.85 for a city break.

Rather more of a surprise is Lille in France, which only was 10p behind Lisbon. The average cost of a break in the French city is £208.95. This placed it at a very respectable third on the Western Europe table. I might have to add it to my list now.

UK Positioning

Unfortunately, Great Britain and Ireland (including the Republic) didn’t fare well against the rest of the continent. Lord only knows what will happen due to the whole Brexit debacle for the UK.

Dublin proved to the most costly city (but what price can you put on fun??) with an average spend of £388.17. Edinburgh came in as the cheapest UK city break, at a cost of £291.30. Belfast was second at £315.40 while London followed at £351.25.

On a positive note, Britain and Ireland were the cheapest when it came to expenditure for galleries and museums. The average cost for was £0.00 in all four cities. This indicates that a large percentage of high ranking cultural facilities are free to enter.

Scandinavia and Northern Europe

Oslo tops out the list of most expensive city breaks. Not only in the Northern Europe category, but also in the survey as a whole. The average cost of a break to the Norwegian capital is an eye-watering £510.47. I’m not sure how many glasses of wine this includes, but I’m guessing it ‘aint many.

Oslo is followed in order of more expensive trips by Reykjavik, Copenhagen and Helsinki. Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, remains the cheapest Northern European city. Visitors are paying around 15% less for a break in Stockholm now than they were in Spring 2017. However, as the average cost of visiting is £386.87, it’s still very much top end.

Do you have any of these on your radar for best value European city breaks for Autumn 2018?

While there are many reasons for the difference in price, you could do worse than checking out the top cities if you’re looking for a cheap getaway this autumn.

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Hi, I'm Suz. I love travelling (obvs..), dogs, shoes and wine, although not necessarily in that order. I'm originally from Scotland, but now live in Snowdonia in North Wales with my husband and a seriously large shoe collection.